Les archives de Renault
Caterpillar drive
The history of Renault agricultural tractors starts with the GP crawler tractor. This was soon followed by the HI, which made way for the much more modern PO in 1926; the last crawler tractor of the brand with a petrol engine.
In 1926, Renault almost simultaneously replaced the HO wheel tractor with the compact PE, which would eventually become the most produced pre-war Renault tractor, and the HI with this PO with caterpillar drive. With its 5 litre 4-cylinder petrol engine, the PO was ideally suited for use on large farms and in forestry. These were also the qualities that the brochure attributed to the model.
ENGINE POWER
Compared to today's mastodons, the PO was modestly dimensioned with a length of 3.30 metres. The engine power was 45 hp, in contrast to the fiscal power of 20 hp mentioned on the front page. Remarkable was the construction of this machine, which could not possibly meet the minimum safety requirements today.
The seat consisted of a pressed metal seat and the driver was not protected by anything else. If he lost his balance, the consequences were far-reaching, whether he fell from the left, right or rear of the tractor. The later models had a much larger seat with backrest and side protection.
A LONG LIFE
The Renault PO weighed in at 3,800 kg, thanks to its powerful engine and heavy power transmission components. The gearbox had, as usual in those years, three forward gears and one reverse. In the lowest gear, this caterpillar tractor could pull a weight of 3,500 kg, which was unprecedented in its time. Despite the fact that the Renault PO had a long life and remained in production until 1936, the number of produced units was extremely modest at 255.
